BREAKING NEWS: Super League chief admits defeat: Andrea Agnelli, the breakaway group’s founder, says it CAN’T go ahead without England’s Big Six clubs and calls off football’s split
- Juventus chief Andrea Agnelli said European Super League cannot go ahead
- News comes after Premier League Big Six all pulled out of breakaway movement
- Super League caused fury with fans, media and politicians all trying to stop it
Breakaway European Super League founder and Juventus chairman Andrea Agnelli has said that the league can no longer go ahead after six English clubs withdrew.
Twelve founding members had joined up to the breakaway tournament late on Sunday night but the move caused fury with fans, media and politicians all getting involved in a bid to stop it from going ahead.
Just 48 hours after the announcement, the Super League was officially suspended after all six Premier League clubs formally pulled out from their commitments – Manchester City and Chelsea first, then Liverpool, Manchester United, Arsenal and Tottenham.
Juventus chairman Andrea Agnelli said the European Super league can no longer go ahead
Agnelli conceded defeat after Premier League Big Six pulled out of the controversial project
Asked whether the project could still happen after the exits, Agnelli told Reuters: ‘To be frank and honest no, evidently that is not the case.’
Agnelli said he remained convinced that European football needed change and he had no regrets about the way the breakaway attempt was made.
‘I remain convinced of the beauty of that project,’ Agnelli said, stating it would have created the best competition in the world.
Chelsea fans made feelings clear about the Super League ahead of Brighton match on Tuesday
Many supporters chose to sit in protest with a group singing: ‘If you love football, sit down’, a move that prevented the two team coaches from reaching the ground
‘But admittedly … I mean, I don’t think that that project is now still up and running,’ he said.
The Premier League Big Six’s decision to pull out from the Super League meant that only six clubs were left standing – Juventus, Inter Milan, AC Milan, Barcelona, Real Madrid and Atletico Madrid.
But on Wednesday morning Inter Milan reportedly became the latest European side to pull the plug on their commitments to the controversial project.
Agnelli gave an awkward interview hyping up the European Super League and describing a ‘blood pact’ between all 12 founder clubs – just moments before the much-maligned venture was suspended.
Tuesday’s twist, a relief to every football fan across Europe, came just moments after Juve chairman Agnelli continued to talk up the project.
‘There is a blood pact between the clubs, we are going forward,’ Agnelli said in an interview with Italian paper La Repubblica.
‘This project has a 100 per cent possibility of success.’